The Poppie Joyce Tapes

In 1909 James Joyce’s sister, Margaret Alice ‘Poppie’ Joyce, migrated to New Zealand as a young nun, never to return to her homeland. Only two years younger than her brother, she experienced the hardships of a chaotic and tragic family life – the very stuff that Joyce mined for his great fictional projects. She spoke about her life, her brother and his works shortly before her death in 1964 in interviews with the Australian Franciscan priest, Godfrey Ainsworth. Now these recently re-discovered tapes are being preserved and made available to the public by the James Joyce Centre in 2017 in partnership with the School of English, Trinity College Dublin.

Join us for this very special talk by the Centre’s Director, Mark Traynor, which will feature excerpts from these unique recordings. Discover the evocative memories of this extraordinary woman who left her family to find a new life at the other end of the world. This event will mark the first public broadcasting of the tapes and advance booking is strongly recommended.

With special thanks to Diane Sadler (School of English, Trinity College Dublin) and Lucy Byrne.